WEBVTT CAUSED BY A LIGHTNING STRIKE? MIKE: YES, AND ACTIVE SCENE. YOU CAN SEE THE TREES BEHIND ME WHERE THE LIGHTNING STRUCK. THE INTENSITY OF THE FLAMES -- THE ASH ON TOP OF THE HOOD. THERE IS SMOKE COMING FROM NEXT DOOR. TAKE A LOOK. THIS IS HOW INTENSE THE LIGHTNING SPARKED FIRE, CATCHING TH CYPRUS TREES ON FIRE, DAMAGING TWO HOMES IN THE AREA. RESIDENTS SAY WHEN THEY WOKE UP AND SAW LIGHTNI, BUT IT WAS THE THUNDER THAT RATTLED THE HOMES. SEEING THE DAMAGE IN THE DAYLIGHT AND THE VIDEO PEOPLE CAPTURED, THEY SAY THEY ARE THANKFUL NO ONE WAS HURT. >> I AM SO THANKFUL. YOU DO NOT EVEN KNOW. I AM -- I HAVE BEEN BAREFOOTED UNTIL 2:30 THIS MORNING. I KEEP LOOKING AT THE TREES. WHAT A NEAR HE FEELING. -- WHAT AN EERIE FEELING. MIKE YOU CAN SEE THE LIGHTNING STRIKE. IT IS POSSIBLE THERE WERE MULTIPLE LIGHTNING STRIKES. RESIDENTS SAY DESPITE HAVING BEEN WOKEN UP AT 2:00 IN THE MORNING, ASIDE FROM MINOR DAMAGE TO THE HOMES, NO ONE WAS INJURED . THEY SAY IT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. FOR LATE MAY, THEY WERE NOT EXPECTING THIS TYPE OF WAY TO WAKE UP ON A FRIDAY, ESPECIALLY GOING INTO THE WEEKEND. MIKE TESELLE, KCRA 3 NEWS.

During the Friday morning thunderstorms, a lightning strike sparked a raging fire in Oakdale that quickly spread from seven Cypress tress into two homes, forcing some residents to flee.

"The boom! The thunder, it rattled the pictures on my dresser and than I looked outside and saw the flames," said Tammy Richards, who lives across the street from where the lighting struck the first tree.

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The lightning, thunder and fire all happened between 2:30 a.m. and 3 a.m. along Old Stockon Road. Five fire engines, one truck and two battalion chiefs raced to stop the spread of the fire during periods of heavy rain, according to a Stanislaus Consolidated Fire tweet.

"It was all so surreal, seeing the flames right behind the house," said Troy Pogue, whose home was damaged in the fire.

The intense flames were captured on video by Michael Mccrea as we watched from down the street.

No one was injured in the incident, but residents were shaken up.

"I am so thankful, you don't even know," Richards said. "It's really scary. I keep coming out and looking at those trees, and what an eerie feeling. I really thought I was going to lose my home and we were going to all be homeless."